However, although Li Xiaofeng disdained Steel's speech, there were quite a few people who held the same opinion within the party, especially among the top leaders. For example, in this venue, Trotsky had the same opinion as him.

"Comrade Joseph is right," this is probably the first time Trotsky publicly supports Stalin's argument. "Imperialist Germany is attacked from both sides and cannot break free from such an unfavorable situation in one day, and they will be passive for a day. Although this imperialist war is something we do not want to see. But we must also see that this kind of imperialist dog biting dogs is beneficial to us."

After pausing, Trotsky said vigorously: "In order to occupy this favorable situation, we can completely avoid those harsh and predatory conditions. As long as we can temporarily grit our teeth, the German imperialists will inevitably choose to give in and compromise!"

An echo sounded in the venue: "Comrade Trotsky is right. If we accept these harsh conditions, the people will not forgive us in the end. I think we can drag it out and let the Germans know that we will not surrender!"

"Yes, as long as we explain the truth to the masses, they will definitely be able to understand it!"

Li Xiaofeng could only sneer in his heart for such remarks. The bullshits would not surrender, and the bullshits would be explained. After the first negotiations in history broke down, when the situation became more unfavorable, it was your grandsons who signed a more unfavorable peace treaty in the end, and then they would not be humiliated at that time?

Why are you explaining the truth to the masses? Isn’t this nonsense? The masses always want only the result and never tell any reason. If the Bolsheviks cannot end the war quickly and let them eat their stomachs, the result will be that they will rise up again with a very "unreasonable" situation, just like overthrowing the former provisional government, and let you get out.

Anyway, Li Xiaofeng felt that the people in the conference room were a bit too idealistic, and was always willing to unilaterally exaggerate the facts that were beneficial to him, and selectively ignore the reality that was unfavorable to him.

For example, is it that simple to do the work of the masses and strive for their understanding? If it were really that simple, the Bolsheviks would not suffer a great loss in the peasants in the election of the Constitutional Convention. According to Stalin, shouldn’t it be that strengthening publicity and education to influence them? Isn’t it just the skill of touching the peasants’ skin? Why can’t it be done? Still let the Social Revolutionary Party get enough votes on the peasants and still let them have an absolute advantage in the peasant Soviet representatives?

Strengthening publicity and persuasion education are never omnipotent, otherwise what should police and prisons do in this world? Moreover, the Bolsheviks' propaganda ability is not as strong as brainwashing. It is purely a dream to rely on words to solve problems.

However, Li Xiaofeng said these words in his heart. If he really wanted to say them, he would probably offend a large number of big shots. These people are now obsessed with ghosts and are unwilling to accept reality at all. Russia in the Tsarist era has been completely over, and Russia, which has suffered a great loss of national strength, can only choose to shrink strategically. And it should have contracted. According to the Bolshevik national theory, Tsarist Russia occupied such territory as Finland, Poland, and Ukraine, which should make people national independence.

But many of the Bolshevik top leaders were not at this level. When they respected national independence, they did nothing different from those of the former Tsar. They still wanted to maintain the borders or territory of the former Tsar and dream of chauvinism of a great power.

It should be said that this is very unrealistic. When there are strong enemies outside, there is chaos inside, and the economy has actually collapsed, and the Finns, Ukrainians, and Poles are disunited. The Tsarist Russian Empire is a broken house. I hope to be a bricklayer and repair the situation. The final result is that the house collapses and you are buried alive.

Lenin was completely uninterested in building this dilapidated house. On the issue of ethnicity, the tutor was not very enlightened, completely different from Stalin. He respected the self-determination rights of the nations in the former Tsarist Russian Empire and even allowed them to be independent. At that time, this was quite rare, and it was also a place where he made a certain immortal feel great.

So for him, it is not unacceptable to let Finland independent and ceding part of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and even Ukraine to the Germans. Anyway, these territories were snatched back by the former Tsarist Russia, and if they were thrown away, they would be considered to have lost the history of invasion.

So after Trotsky finished his speech, he immediately said: "I must point out that if the Germans cannot achieve their goals at the negotiating table, then it is very likely that they will make trouble on the battlefield. Comrades, I must remind you again that the war on the front is very unfavorable to us. The front is approaching our capital and we have no room for maneuver!"

There was a whisper in the venue. The big guys were not fools. They could still see the real problems on the front line. If, as Lenin said, the Germans strengthened their offensive and broke through their northern front in one fell swoop, Petrograd would be in danger. Once the Germans were at the city, the political generals would be very unfavorable to them. It is conceivable that both the Social Revolutionary Party, the Cadets and the Mensheviks would make a big fuss about this matter.

At this time, Stalin spoke again: "I think the situation on the front line is not as bad as we imagined. Our party is deeply supported by soldiers, and they are willing to fight for our party. The revolution in October has fully demonstrated this point. Under the leadership of the party, the soldiers burst into great enthusiasm for fighting, which is incomparable to the Tsarist era. I think the soldiers led by our party have the ability to surround our motherland!"

Li Xiaofeng curled his lips and thought to himself: "It's taken for granted again. The combat level and fighting will shown by Russian soldiers in civil war and foreign war are completely different. If you use the civil war state to force the foreign war state, you will only have to worry about it."

This is not nonsense. After the first negotiations broke down, the Germans launched a rapid attack, which made the polar bear cry and call their parents. The meaning was quite clear - we would not accept our conditions, right? Then we would force you to submit by force.

It may collapse at the frontline moment, while the Social Revolutionary Party, the Cadets and the Mensheviks were constantly in trouble. Moreover, the patience of the people was becoming increasingly limited. In April 1918, under the strong insistence of Lenin, the Bolshevik Politburo passed the Treaty of Brest with an extremely weak advantage.

The price paid at that time was a big increase now, and Russia had to cede land and pay compensation. The result was extremely embarrassing. If the big guys in this conference room knew that they had gritted their teeth and endured for the past five or six months, they would have received a more humiliating and unfavorable treaty, then it would be better to agree to the German conditions now, which would be much smaller.

However, except for a certain immortal who traveled through time, most of the big guys in this conference room were full of confidence in signing a treaty to end the war with a decent end. At least the confidence of steel was particularly strong. He jumped up and down and kept emphasizing his advantages. Judging from his meaning, it seemed that Russia had a great advantage. Signing a fair treaty was already cheap enough for the Germans.

"We must see that the significance of the United States after participating in the war is completely different. The pressure on the Germans will be much greater than last year. They are afraid that we will want us to withdraw from the war immediately. The reason why we set up so many obstacles now is entirely because we have actively put out the olive branch of peace, making them mistakenly feel that the initiative is with them... I think. We should adjust our attitude towards negotiations with Germany to make the Germans sober!"

Stalin spoke with relish, but he did not notice that Lenin's face looked a little ugly. I'm afraid that this stupidity did not know the thoughts of the mentor. I don't know that he is now trying to end the war immediately at all costs, so that he can immediately take action to deal with the opposition in the country, because for him, the Germans are far less terrible than those oppositions.

This is true. The Germans, who were dragged down by Britain, France, the United States and Japan, do not care about Russia for the time being. In fact, not many clauses in the Brest Treaty that were unfavorable to Russia were actually implemented. The Poles, Finns and the three Baltic countries have been making independence. It is only a matter of time before they split. Haven’t you seen that with the disintegration of the Soviet Union at the end of the 20th century, these countries set up their own businesses?

However, Ukraine, which stipulated that independence in the treaty, remained in Russia at that time, and the six billion war reparations were finally filled with moons in the mirror and no money was paid. With Germany's defeat, the mentor directly announced that the treaty would be invalidated, and the treaty lasted for eight months.

For the Bolsheviks, they bought eight months of precious time through a piece of paper and prepared for the upcoming three-year civil war. Such a deal should be worth it. On the contrary, if Stalin said, continue to persevere, it is probably unpredictable.

However, the current situation is slightly different from that in history. Stalin's attitude of firm opposition immediately accepted the conditions of Germany. In history, Bukharin should have been more fiercely opposed to the mentor, and he has always opposed it to the end. Bukharin's opinion once had a great advantage. The left-wing communists he led once made the mentor uncomfortable. If Trotsky had not changed his position quickly, it would be difficult to say whether the Brest Treaty could be signed.

Now, Stalin completely stole Bukharin's limelight, and this situation immediately aroused Li Xiaofeng's vigilance. Could this guy be preparing to set up his own business?

There is a possibility that this is not impossible. Since November, Stalin has not been very successful. He has encountered many nails. With the nature of this product, he has no surprise at all. And peace talks with Germany are indeed an opportunity. For example, Bukharin in history was only a member of the Central Committee, but his prestige has soared.

Think about it, Stalin's influence is greater than that of Bukharin in history. If he takes advantage of this opportunity, he will have the opportunity to wrestle Lenin.

This is not a good phenomenon. If Stalin rebels from the Lenin faction, then Trotsky will definitely make a fuss, because in essence, he, the people's diplomatic committee member, also disagrees with the Brest contract. If he and Stalin are in a relationship, Lenin will really have the possibility of capsizing in the gutter.

The most terrifying thing is that in the current Politburo, except for Sverdlov who always supported the opinions of the mentor on the issue of German peace talks, almost all the others were opposite. Although Ulitsky was not here for the time being, Derzhinsky also stood on an opposing position.

It can be said that the current situation is three votes to two votes. It may even be four votes to two votes. The situation is extremely unfavorable to the mentor. However, Li Xiaofeng is in a hurry and has no choice. He is not even a member of the Central Committee. How could he control the Politburo's vote?

There was a quarrel in the venue for a while, and most of them agreed with Stalin and Trotsky's opinions. If Lenin had no clever tricks, the situation might not be good.

"I don't think it's any point to sit here and talk," Lenin said earnestly. "Based on the information we are getting now, it is impossible to accurately estimate the mentality of the Germans, which is quite unfavorable to our negotiation work. Our actual work cannot be based on guesswork! So we urgently need to carry out our intelligence work on Germany. It is best to understand their bottom line!"

The venue finally became a little quieter, and the big guys began to think about Lenin's words. Even Trotsky and Stalin, who did not agree with his compromise route with Germany, had to admit that this was reasonable. Only by knowing oneself and knowing one's enemy can one win every battle, and so on. If the Germans can understand the bottom line, then they can take targeted measures, which is just enough to overcome air-to-air.

But the question came soon, who should be sent to carry out this task? Speaking of which, there were many people in the Bolsheviks who had connections with Germany, including Lenin and Trotsky, who had carried out revolutionary work in Germany. However, the outbreak of World War I completely disrupted all this, and their connection with Germany was greatly weakened.

And even if there is connection, I am afraid that neither Lenin nor Trotsky would dare to fully believe the news sent by the German brothers. After all, not all socialists uphold the spirit of internationalism in this war. Many old socialist activists chose to be loyal to the country. God knows whether the news given by the other party is true or false.

"Or why should Comrade Radic and Comrade Yue Fei think of more ways to explore the Germans' bottom?" Trotsky suggested.

This method can only be said to be better than nothing. The two of them faced the German negotiator directly at the negotiator. It was not easy to find out their old secrets at the negotiator. If they were not able to find out their trump card, they would expose their own reality.

"We cannot put all hope on the negotiating table!" Although Lenin did not directly deny Trotsky's suggestion, it was actually no different from negating. "We should put more effort under the negotiating table, and we must obtain the German trump card through more direct channels!"

Trotsky suddenly felt bitter: "But our connection with Germany is very poor. And the existing channels cannot find such critical news."

"I know," Lenin nodded slowly, then pointed at Li Xiaofeng: "That's why I called Comrade Andre. As the person in charge of intelligence, he should be able to put forward some useful opinions!"

OK! Li Xiaofeng now understands why the tutor asked him to attend the meeting. It turns out that it is because he is the head of the intelligence department. But he really thinks this is nonsense. The special department has not even fully established a domestic intelligence system. What are you talking about for international intelligence? And it is still necessary to develop intelligence from hostile countries. Isn’t this a force to force people?

All the big guys here understand this principle. Basically everyone thinks that the tutor’s proposal is very unreliable. How can such a big thing be handed over to a little kid?

Of course, not everyone thinks so, at least the mentor, Sverdlov and Derzhinsky don't think so. It's very strange, why does Derzhinsky have confidence in someone?

The reason is very simple. When I went to Sweden to welcome Lenin back to China, I knew the deeds of someone teasing British spies. As a pro-German neutral country, Sweden's relationship with Germany was very ambiguous in this war. Derzhinsky and Lenin meant to save the country in a curve. See if I could think of a way in Sweden and explore the German trump card from the side.

"This method is really..."

Li Xiaofeng actually wants to say that this method is too nonsense. Although the relationship between Sweden and Germany is acceptable, it must be seen that these two countries have not formed an alliance and Sweden has not joined the German camp. In a broad sense, Sweden is not even a German allies.

Generally speaking, even allies may not tell me about the major issues related to the direction of the war, let alone the fence-riding faction like Sweden? To explore the Germans' trump card from Sweden is like going to the United States to get the Western Classic. What will happen?

"What matters is not what results you get!"

After the meeting, Lenin once again left a fairy in his office and taught with great thought: "The important thing is that you must make them feel that you have achieved results!"

Li Xiaofeng was confused by his mentor. It seemed that his mentor meant to let him fake it?

"It's not a fraud! It's a kind deception!" Lenin sighed again, "Some of our comrades' ideas are too simple and naive, and they don't even see how bad the situation we are facing now is!"

Well, Li Xiaofeng immediately understood. To put it bluntly, the tutor meant that he wanted to "do" a piece of information that was beneficial to him, and it would be better to raise the Germans' bottom line a little higher, so that the negotiation process can be promoted.

However, this task is not easy to complete. Even if a certain immortal knows that the Germans have a high bottom line, he really has no way!

Lenin immediately began to educate him again: "What I said was very clear just now. What is important is not the intelligence itself. It doesn't matter if there is no way. Anyway, other comrades in the party don't know this and cannot confirm it, right? So, your task is to go to Sweden and pretend to have obtained this information!"

PS: Bow and thank DougLos for making the two comrades fly!
Chapter completed!